Partnerships

The forensic community is complex and has many layers. Forensic practitioners work in a wide range of specialties and contexts. No single employer or group covers more than a handful of these, and no single professional association represents all practitioners.

We see ourselves as a bridge between the forensic practitioners we regulate and those who use their services. Our work to define, promote and maintain professional standards is in everyone's interests. Regulation is not something we - or any single body - can 'do' to a professional group. It depends on links between ourselves and:

• other regulatory bodies covering professions which include forensic practitioners,
• centres of excellence which train and develop individual practitioners in their professional work, driving forward standards,
• representative groups such as professional associations and institutes, which speak for the members of particular professional or specialist groups and promote their interests and reputation,
• providers of forensic services and employers of practitioners,
• users of forensic services.

Our stakeholder conference gave us an opportunity to listen to a broad spectrum of views from the forensic community. It helped us stay in touch with the realities of day-to-day practice and its impact on the administration of justice. The first took place on 6-7 September 2006 at Warwick University.

The Staff Associations and Trade Unions Liaison Group (SATULG) provides a forum for us to discuss key issues about registration who those who represent practitioners.